<p>I was noticing a lot of waitlisted and rejected applicants this year, along with application increases at all of the top colleges (not Yale).</p>
<p>Do you think that there is truly more applicants, or there are more people applying to way more colleges??</p>
<p>I think that a person who is accepted to all of their schools can only pick one, therefore affecting the yield for the incoming class at many schools.</p>
<p>Any thoughts??/</p>
<p>I have been saying that for years...when people say, oh applying to 20 schools doens't hurt anyone it does</p>
<p>It's a mix. The top tier schools are spending more money recruiting at non-traditional sources (rural, inner city and international) -- tapping previously ignored sources. Then the whole ridiculous USN&WR ranking thing has made many kids who would otherwise apply to the great local state school or small cozy but excellent lib arts school feel inferior if he/she doesn't apply to HYPS and others. Also, the increasing global wealth has increased great secondary schools overseas too. Better kids are coming out with knowledge and access to US colleges. Although HYPS have unstated international limits too. </p>
<p>The funny thing is that for the 5000-6000 kids who actually enter HYPS each year there's only a couple thousand or so who were admitted by HYPS who end up not going to one of them (i.e. attend a non-HYPS). The top schools got the yield/admit/matriculation thing fine -- it's the next tier that I really feel sorry for -- especially since there are 100 ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT schools here in the US. But their stars don't shine in the current environment which is baloney.</p>